In vain, therefore, should we pretend to determine any single event, or infer any cause or effect, without the assistance of observation and experience.
Empiricism is an epistemological position that holds that knowledge is gained primarily through sensory experiences, rather than through innate ideas (
Innatism) or reasoning (
Rationalism). Empiricists believe that all knowledge is based on observations and experiences of the physical world, and that the mind is initially a blank slate, or 
tabula rasa, at birth.
Beliefs[edit | edit source]
A Posteriori[edit | edit source]
A posteriori knowledge is a knowledge gained from sensory experience or empirical evidence. A posteriori claims are formed after direct observation of events, such as we have observed facts "sky is blue" after looking at the sky or "water boils at 100°C" after heating water.
Inductive Reasoning[edit | edit source]
Inductive reasoning claims, that from observed facts, such as these mentioned above, we can draw further conclusions, like "sky would be blue tomorrow and it was blue before we were born" or "water will vaporize when it will be heated to 200°C", although some empiricists denied these claims as fundamentally true before direct experience. Inductive reasoning often gives certain truths (such as if water boils in 100°C in a house, it would boil outside the house, if heated, as well), but can also be only statement of probability (such as if it rained today, it could rain after a week).
History[edit | edit source]
Ancient Empiricism[edit | edit source]
Empirical thought has deep roots in both Eastern and Western traditions.
In ancient India, the 
Vaisheshika school held that perception and inference were the only reliable sources of knowledge. The 
Charvaka school, in contrast, was even more radical, asserting that only direct perception yields certain knowledge, while inference is prone to error.
In Ancient Greece, the Empiric School (330 BCE) of medicine rejected the dogmatic traditions of the time, favoring systematic observation of phenomena as the basis for medical practice. This approach was closely linked with 
Pyrrhonian Skepticism, which emphasized doubt and the fallibility of human knowledge.
Aristotle played a significant role in shaping early empiricism. He challenged 
Platonic rationalism, arguing that the mind begins as a tabula rasa ("blank slate") and knowledge is acquired through experience. His famous dictum, "Nothing is in the intellect that was not first in the senses," reflected his emphasis on observation.
The 
Stoic school, emerging around 330 BCE, further developed empirical thought. The Stoics maintained that the mind begins as a blank slate, acquiring knowledge through impressions left by sensory experience. 
Zeno of Citium and later Stoics reinforced the idea that reality is understood by accumulating and analyzing sensory input.
Medieval Empiricism[edit | edit source]
During the Middle Ages, Aristotelian empiricism was preserved and expanded upon by Islamic philosophers. 
Al-Farabi incorporated empirical ideas into his epistemology. 
Avicenna developed a sophisticated model of human knowledge, asserting that knowledge arises from sensory perception and is abstracted into universal concepts via syllogistic reasoning.
Ibn Tufail demonstrated empiricism through a thought experiment in his philosophical novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan. It depicted a feral child on an isolated island who acquired knowledge purely through experience. His ideas influenced later empiricists like 
John Locke.
Thomas Aquinas integrated Aristotelian empiricism into Christian theology, arguing that sensory experience was necessary for intellectual knowledge.
Classical Empiricism[edit | edit source]
Francis Bacon is often regarded as the father of modern empiricism, laying the groundwork for the scientific method, advocating systematic observation and inductive reasoning over Aristotelian logic.
Thomas Hobbes extended empiricism into political philosophy, arguing in Leviathan that all knowledge originates from sensory experience. Hobbes viewed the mind as a mechanistic entity, influenced by external stimuli, and argued that even abstract concepts like justice, power, and morality arise from material conditions and sensory perception.
John Locke further developed empiricism in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, rejecting innate ideas and asserting that the mind at birth is a blank slate. Locke’s epistemology laid the foundation for modern psychology and theories of knowledge acquisition.
George Berkeley argued that reality consists only of perceptions. His principle "esse est percipi" (to be is to be perceived) rejected the existence of an external world beyond human experience
David Hume introduced skepticism about causation and induction, arguing that belief in cause and effect stems from habit rather than reason. Hume's critique of metaphysical concepts, including the self and free will, laid the foundation for later developments in epistemology and analytic philosophy.
Modern Empiricism[edit | edit source]
Modern empiricism evolved in the 20th century with the emergence of 
Logical Empiricism and 
Pragmatism. Logical empiricists, including the 
Vienna Circle, sought to synthesize sensory experience with mathematical logic, rejecting metaphysics through the 
verification principle. They classified statements as either analytic (logical truths) or synthetic (empirically verifiable), dismissing unverifiable claims as meaningless.
Pragmatists such as 
Charles Sanders Peirce, 
William James, and 
John Dewey focused on how knowledge emerges through interaction with the world. Peirce's doctrine of 
Fallibilism held that scientific conclusions are tentative but self-correcting, allowing knowledge to improve over time.
James introduced radical empiricism, arguing that experience alone suffices to understand reality, without supernatural explanations. Dewey advanced 
Instrumentalism, viewing ideas as tools for problem-solving.
Variants[edit | edit source]
 Sensualism (Humean Empiricism)
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Lockean Empiricism
|
 Phenomenalism
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source of Ideas | Only direct sensations | Sensations + reflection | Sense-data (not full objects) |
| Abstract Concepts | Illusions, just word-tricks | Built from reflection | Bundles of perceptions |
| Self | Doesn't exist, just sensation-flux | Exists via continuity of memory | A construct of perceptions |
| Example | "Apple" = redness + sweetness + crunchiness (sensations) | "Apple" = sensations + reflection ("This is a fruit called 'apple'") | "Apple" = a stable bundle of "apple" data |
Experientialism[edit | edit source]
Experientialism is a philosophical view which states that there is no "purely rational" detached God's-eye view of the world which is external to human thought, developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. Experientialism is especially a response to the objectivist tradition of transcendental truth most prominently formulated by Immanuel Kant which still requires a commitment to what Lakoff and Johnson call "basic realism".
Sensualism[edit | edit source]
Sensualism is an epistemological idea that earning knowledge through pure senses is possible. According to sensualism, the world is only physical and all phenomena we see through our sense organs are the only real. It's considered to be the most radical form of empiricism. Sensualism is disproved scientifically.
Criticism[edit | edit source]
InnatismCriticism of Empiricism or Anti-Empiricism is a critique of 
Empiricism. Critics of empiricism highlight a number of different problems with the view. One of them is that empiricism can't account for knowledge which isn't directly perceived and is instead found by logical deduction or supernatural revelation. Others say that it is self-defeating as an epistemological stance as it can't prove that "knowledge can only be discovered with human perception" by the use of human perception.
How to Draw[edit | edit source]
Relationships[edit | edit source]
Friends[edit | edit source]
Philosophical Realism - Everything about reality can be known through observation and experience.
Scientific Realism - Same as above, but with an emphasis on using scientific research.
Direct Realism - You have the best aspects of me and the above two.
Naturalism - The natural world is one that we live in and can study the easiest.
Pragmatism - Who needs to come up with these complex ideas when you have the tried and true methods?
Evidentialism - Experience is the evidence.
Reliabilism - Experience is definitely a reliable source.
Positivism - We both agree on using evidence and observation to help gain understanding of the world.
Frenemies[edit | edit source]
Rationalism - Did you learn what you say from experience?
Skepticism - Doubting blind faith and overly abstract speculations is understandable, but what reason is there to doubt what you can see and hear?
Conventionalism - Truth is not defined by mere agreement but by years of observation. But if those agreements come from actual experience, not from mere religious beliefs, we are compatible.
Intuitionism - Immediate experience... of what?
Irrationalism - I agree that reason has its limitations, and that's where sensory experience helps fill in the gaps. But you're veering dangerously into superstitious or subjectivist water.
Enemies[edit | edit source]
Subjectivism - You, me, your family and friends and your dog experience the same world and can come to the same conclusions.
Innatism - How do you know that babies already know anything from the moment they are born?
Solipsism - Don't be paranoid, the world you experience is definitely real, and there is no reason to think differently.
Divine Illumination - How can be you sure that your data "come from God"?
Quotes[edit | edit source]
WIP
Further Information[edit | edit source]
Wikipedia[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
[edit | edit source]
 Philosophy of Science - E=mc² |
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